Mills, decidedly a moderate on the issue, resisted some of the more extreme measures proposed by anti-gun lawmakers.
The new laws expand the background check system for private weapons transfers, enhance the existing “yellow flag” law, strengthen penalties for those who transfer a weapon to a prohibited person and establish a stronger mental health safety net.
Some of the proposals failed on previous attempts, and Second Amendment advocates charged that the Lewiston massacre was being exploited for political gain.
But Mills claimed the new measures would enhance “safety,” a common refrain after gun restrictions are put in place.
“This law represents important, meaningful progress, without trampling on anybody’s rights, and it will better protect public safety by implementing reasonable reforms and by significantly expanding mental health resources.”
The one win for gun rights supporters and the state at large was strengthening mental health crisis care. This was a rare example of putting proper attention on the root cause of tragedies and not inanimate objects.
But what should not be ignored in all the self-congratulations after the new laws were signed is that Maine’s existing yellow flag law should have been used to deter the killer. It was already in the books and the system in place to intervene with a person who obviously was in a dangerous state of mental health.
Instead, lawmakers may now tout they’ve done “something,” when that something was available to start with. Enforce what’s on the books and take mental health seriously, and that will address the majority of these criminal cases.
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